Purdue puts away pesky Mastodons

December 21, 2005|CURT RALLO Tribune Staff Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Just as former Indiana University player Dane Fife and his Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne basketball team were poised to make a run, Purdue guard Korey Spates made a run of his own. He made sure that Fife wouldn't be smiling once again in the visitors locker room at Mackey Arena. IPFW closed to 10 points with 6:28 left in the game and a chance to cut the lead by two more at the free-throw line. But Kyle Savely missed the front end of a one-and-one. Spates, a 6-foot tall guard, soared above the crowd to snap down the rebound, and then raced coast-to-coast for a layup that got the Boilermakers off and running to a 79-69 triumph Tuesday night. Purdue, 5-4, takes a break until Dec. 28, when it hosts Tennessee-Martin. IPFW, which was a 3-pointer away from upsetting Notre Dame on Sunday in a 65-63 loss, drops to 2-8. Freshman Chris Lutz led Purdue with 18 points and Spates came off the bench to score 14. Savely scored 17 to lead IPFW and Lafayette native Tyler Best scored 15 for the Mastodons. Former Elkhart Central star Brad Pompey scored eight points for the Mastodons, including a pair of 3-pointers during a comeback that saw IPFW close to seven points. Spates's sprint and a critical 3-pointer by Lutz after IPFW closed to 64-57 allowed Purdue to maintain the upperhand. Purdue closed out the victory with a basket by Matt Kiefer and 10-of-11 free throw shooting. "I thought Spates was great tonight," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "I don't know what was the deal the last game. He didn't even look to shoot. I don't know why that was. We need him to be aggressive and look for his shot and get in there. I thought he made great decisions." Purdue found itself outscored 43-36 in the second half, hampered by a zone defense. "I think we caught them off guard, but they recovered and maintained," Fife said. "We're primarily a man-to-man defensive team. They're a young team, and we thought about going zone. "At this point, we're too small for high majors and not quick enough for mid-majors, but the good thing about our team is that they're going to fight," Fife said of his team's comeback. "Our players are going to fight and we're going to be in the game." Purdue couldn't consistently hit 3-pointers to force IPFW out of the zone. But a massive 43-26 rebounding edge and tenacious defense powered Purdue. The Boilermaker defense harassed IPFW into five turnovers and 2-of-9 shooting on its first 13 possessions, enabling Purdue to gain a 16-4 lead. "I thought we did a good job the whole game of rebounding the basketball, and that was the constant that we needed tonight," Painter said. "I thought we kind of got away from our game plan of how we were going to defend in the post and then once it got in the post, how we were going to handle it. When you're in a position to knock somebody out, you have to do it. You can't allow somebody to stay in the game." "This is not the first game we started off like that," Pompey said. "We're trying to figure out why we're turning the ball over and what's the problem. We're starting off slow, and it's hurting us bad. Every game, we start off slow." "We've played Purdue, we've played Valpo, we've played Notre Dame, very good, solid programs, good teams, and I felt like we could have won all three of them," Fife said. "I felt like we could win these three games because I feel that these three teams are vulnerable at this point. They're young, or they took us lightly." IPFW (2-8): Scott 4-11 0-0 10, Hawkins 1-4 0-1 3, Best 6-10 1-3 15, Carouthers 4-14 6-8 14, Pompey 3-8 0-0 8, Savely 4-9 7-9 17, Egeric 0-2 0-0 0, Posley 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 22-60 16-23 69. PURDUE (5-4): Minnoy 4-7 4-6 12, Carroll 1-1 0-0 2, Green 2-4 0-0 5, Lutz 6-14 2-2 18, Dillon 1-3 2-2 4, Kiefer 4-8 3-5 11, Ware 4-5 0-0 8, Spates 3-7 8-10 14, White 0-3 3-4 3, Hartley 0-1 2-2 2, Riddell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 24-31 79. Halftime -- Purdue 43-26. 3-Point Goals -- IPFW 9-22 (Best 2-2, Savely 2-4, Scott 2-5, Pompey 2-5, Hawkins 1-3, Carouthers 0-3), Purdue 5-18 (Lutz 4-11, Green 1-2, Hartley 0-1, Minno y 0-1, Dillon 0-1, Spates 0-2). Fouled Out -- Savely. Rebounds -- IPFW 26 (Hawkins 5), Purdue 43 (Minnoy 9). Assists -- IPFW 9 (Best 4), Purdue 13 (Spates 5). Total Fouls -- IPFW 23, Purdue 24. A -- 7,182.